I can tell you from personal
experience that until I checked out the government websites for myself,
I had no idea that our family was owed money which was being held in a
reserve account by the U.S. government. Ours was a small amount (less
than $50.00) which was owed to our parents, which have now gone to be
with Our Father, the Lord. None the less, if you, or a deceased
loved one is listed, and you can provide specific detail, and
information, you can receive those funds. One of the neat things is that
if you have an extended family, as many of us do now around the country
and world, they can still see if money is owed to them via the internet
for FREE.
I'll tell you now that there
are some companies and services which will charge you to
do the work and file the forms, or even less, some will charge you a fee
just to provide you with the information provided on this page, to find
out about YOUR MONEY. You may have even received an email, or
letter in the mail only to have discarded it thinking it was a hoax.
In some way, it may have been if they were going to charge you a fee for
this FREE public information. You can easily access and confirm your claim information, including all
forms necessary at no charge.
Use your claim for any purpose
including contributing to your favorite organization to help in the
mission of the current situations that prevail upon us. Spend it at your
local business to help move our economy forward, or save it for a rainy
day. The fact is it is, if you have an unclaimed amount, it is your
money and only you can claim it.
When you have the time visit
the following websites to see if you, or someone you love is owed these
unclaimed funds which are held in reserve by the United States Government
and other governing bodies until claimed by the rightful individual(s).
US Federal Savings Bonds
http://www.savingsbonds.gov/sav/sbtreashunt.htm
" The official source of information in regards to US
Savings Bonds: Check this website for any Savings Bonds you may have
forgotten about"
Internal Revenue Service
http://www.irs.ustreas.gov
" A resource website to search for any undeliverable or
unclaimed Federal Income Tax Refund checks"
Pension Benefit Guaranty
Corporation
http://search.pbgc.gov
" A resource website to search for Unclaimed Pension
Benefits that might be owed to you"
US Department of Housing and
Urban Development
http://www.hud.gov/fha/comp/refunds/page1.html
" A resource website to search for Unclaimed Refunds: If you
had a HUD/FHA insured mortgage, you may have a refund on part of your
insurance premium or a share of the earnings"
Veterans Administration
Benefits
http://www.va.gov
" A resource website to search for Unclaimed Veterans Benefits
owed to you by the Federal Government"
Swiss Bankers Association
http://www.dormantaccounts.ch
" A new claims process to provide Nazi victims or their heirs
the opportunity to make claims to assets deposited in Swiss Banks during
World War II"
Bank of Canada
http://ucbswww.bank-banque-canada.ca
"A resource website to search for Unclaimed Bank Accounts held
by The Bank of Canada"
Australian Securities and
Investments Commission
http://www.treasury.gov.au/publications/UnclaimedMoneys/index.asp
" A resource website to search for Unclaimed Money and
Unclaimed Property held by The Australian Commonwealth Government"
Province of British Columbia
http://www.fin.gov.bc.ca/ocg/upo/guide%5Fremit%5Fup.pdf
"A printable form and the guidelines for submitting a claim
for Unclaimed Property to The Province of British Columbia"
Unclaimed Assets
http://www.unclaimedassets.com
" A resource website to search for Unclaimed Property, Dormant
Bank Accounts, Abandoned Safe Deposit Boxes, Lost Stocks, and Missing
Inheritances in many foreign countries"
The National Unclaimed
Property Database
http://www.nupd.com
" A centralized database and resource website for Unclaimed
Money and Unclaimed Property held by Federal Agencies"
US Railroad Retirement Board
http://www.rrb.gov
" A resource website to search for Unclaimed Railroad
Retirement Benefits"
Armenian Assembly of America
http://www.aaainc.org
" A resource website that provides reliable information and
informed viewpoints on the most pressing Armenian Issues"
Holocaust Claims Processing
Office of the New York State Banking Department
http://www.claims.state.ny.us/hist.htm
" The mission of this office: Recover assets deposited in European
Banks: Recover monies never paid in connection with Insurance policies
issued by European Insurers: Recover lost or looted Art"
Irish Bankers' Federation
http://www.ibis.ie/about/pubs/dormant/form.html
" A printable form and the guidelines for submitting a claim
for Dormant Accounts to The Irish Banker's Federation"
Australian Department of
Treasury and Finance Unclaimed Moneys and The Australian Department of Treasury Unclaimed Estates
http://www.statetrustees.com.au/index.cfm?section=unclaimed
" A resource website where you can search for Unclaimed Moneys
with The Department of Treasury and Finance and where you can search for
Unclaimed Property, belonging to yourself or a family member"
New York Life Insurance
Company
http://www.newyorklife.com/NYL2/Display/0,1235,9041,00.html
" A website where you can search New York Life records of
Unclaimed Assets for funds that may be owed to you or a member of your
family"
Living Heirs
http://www.livingheirs.com
" A resource website to aid heirs of Holocaust Victims to
identify their ancestors and documented assets"
New South Wales Unclaimed
Moneys
http://www.osr.nsw.gov.au/um/index.htm
" A resource website where you can search for Unclaimed Moneys
held by The Office of State Revenue in New South Wales"
France Unclaimed Moneys
http://www.afb.fr
" A resource website where you can search for Unclaimed Moneys
held by banks in France, however this website is in French, there is no
English version available at this time"
New Zealand Unclaimed Moneys
http://www.ird.govt.nz/monies/index.htm
" A resource website where you can search for Unclaimed Moneys
held by the Inland Revenue Department in New Zealand"
Australian Securities
Commission
http://www.treasury.gov.au/publications/UnclaimedMoneys
" A resource website where you can search for Unclaimed Moneys
held by the Australian Department of Treasury"
Swiss Bankers Association
http://www.swissbanking.org
" A resource website where you can search for Dormant Accounts
in Switzerland"
The International Commission
on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims
http://www.icheic.org
" A Resource website to search for unpaid insurance
policies issued to victims of the Holocaust. Information is
available in 23 languages"
Puerto Rico Department of
Treasury
http://www.prstar.net
" A resource website to search for Unclaimed Moneys in Puerto
Rico, however this website is in Spanish, there is no English version
available at this time"
Frozen Swiss Accounts Database
Search Form
http://www.wiesenthal.com/swiss/index.cfm
" This website provides a notice of claim procedures for locating
Swiss, Swedish, French, British Bank and Insurance Accounts"
A
corporate attorney sent the following out to the employees in his
company. We are sharing it for your information.
The next time you order checks have only your initials (instead of
first name) and last name put on them. If someone takes your check
book they will not know if you sign your checks with just your
initials or your first name but your bank will know how you sign your
checks.
Put your work phone # on your checks instead of your home phone. If
you have a PO Box use that instead of your home address. If you do not
have a PO Box use your work address. Never
have your
SS# printed on your checks
-- you can add it if it is necessary. But if you have it printed,
anyone can get it.
Place the contents of your wallet on a photocopy machine, do both
sides of each license, credit card, etc. You will know what you had in
your wallet and all of the account numbers and phone numbers to call
and cancel. Keep the photocopy in a safe place. I also carry a
photocopy of my passport when I travel either here or abroad.
We've all heard horror stories about fraud that's committed on us in
stealing a name, address, Social Security number, credit cards, etc.
Unfortunately I, an attorney, have firsthand knowledge because my
wallet was stolen last month. Within a week, the thieve(s) ordered an
expensive monthly cell phone package, applied for a VISA credit card,
had a credit line approved to buy a Gateway computer, received a PIN
number from DMV to change my driving record information online, and
more.
But here's some critical information to limit the damage in case this
happens to you or someone you know:
We have been told we should cancel our credit cards immediately. But
the key is having the toll free numbers and your card numbers handy so
you know whom to call. Keep those where you can find them easily.
File a police report immediately in the jurisdiction where it was
stolen, this proves to credit providers you were diligent, and is a
first step toward an investigation (if there ever is one).
But here's what is perhaps most important:
(I
never even thought to do this)
Call the three national credit reporting organizations immediately to
place a fraud alert on your name and Social Security number. I had never
heard of doing that until advised by a bank that called to tell me an
application for credit was made over the Internet in my name. The alert
means any company that checks your credit knows your
information was stolen and they have to contact you by phone to
authorize new credit.
By the time I was advised to do this, almost two weeks after the theft,
all the damage had been done. There are records of all the credit checks
initiated by the thieves' purchases, none of which I knew about before
placing the alert. Since then, no additional damage has been done, and
the thieves threw my wallet away this weekend (someone turned it in). It
seems to have stopped them in their tracks.
The numbers are:
Equifax:
1-800-525-6285
Experian (formerly TRW): 1-888-397-3742
Trans Union: 1-800-680-7289
Social Security Administration (fraud line): 1-800-269-0271
We
pass along jokes; we pass along just about everything. Do think about
passing this information along. It could really help someone you care
about.
